When an administrative law judge (ALJ) determines that the testimony of a
vocational expert (VE) is needed at the hearing, the ALJ must:

have no substantive contact related to the merits of the case with the VE
except at the hearing or in writing, and any such writing will be made an
exhibit; and

request that the VE examine any pertinent evidence received between the
time the VE completed the case study and the time of the hearing.

For instructions on obtaining testimony or written opinion from a VE, see
the Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual, sections
I-2-5-48 through
I-2-5-61.

Assisting hearing office (HO) staff will:

send copies of any correspondence between the ALJ and the VE to the
claimant and make such correspondence an exhibit; and

if the VE is appearing via telephone, contact the VE before the hearing to
confirm the telephone number to be used at the hearing.

NOTE:

When a VE is scheduled to testify at a hearing, the HO staff must notify
the claimant of this appearance in the “REMARKS” section of
the Notice of Hearing. The Notice of Hearing must also specify the manner
in which the VE will appear.

At the hearing, the ALJ must advise the claimant of the reason for the
VE's presence and explain the procedures to be followed.

The VE may attend the entire hearing, but this is not required. If the VE
was not present to hear pertinent testimony, such as testimony regarding
past relevant work or educational background, the ALJ will summarize the
testimony for the VE on the record.

After administering the oath or affirmation, the ALJ must:

“qualify” the VE by eliciting information regarding his or her
impartiality, expertise, and professional qualifications;

ask the claimant and the representative whether they have any objections
to the VE testifying; and

rule on any objection. The ALJ's ruling may be on the record or in
narrative form that is made an exhibit. The ALJ may also address the
ruling in the body of his or her decision.

The ALJ will ask the VE questions designed to elicit clear and complete
information. The claimant and the representative have the right to
question the VE fully on any pertinent matter within the VE's area of
expertise. However, the ALJ will determine when they may exercise this
right and whether questions asked or answers given are appropriate. For
example:

If the VE's replies are ambiguous or overly technical, the ALJ will follow
up with more specific questions in order to obtain a response that is
understandable to the average person.

The ALJ will not permit the VE to respond to questions on medical matters
or to draw conclusions not within the VE's authority, e.g., the VE may not
provide opinions regarding the claimant's residual functional capacity or
the resolution of ultimate issues of fact or law.

The ALJ will not ask or allow the VE to conduct any type of vocational
examination of the claimant during the hearing.

Before the ALJ may rely on a VE's testimony to support a disability
decision, the ALJ must inquire on the record whether there are any
conflicts between occupational evidence the VE provided and information
contained in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), including
its companion publication, the Selected Characteristics of Occupations
Defined in the Revised Dictionary of Occupational Titles (SCO),
published by the U. S. Department of Labor. The ALJ must identify and
obtain a reasonable explanation for any such conflict. The ALJ also must
explain in the decision how any identified conflict has been resolved. See
Social
Security Ruling 00-4p.

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